The horriblenews reached us Boxing Day 2005in the morning. Approximately2500 casualties said the first news. During
the day the feared death toll raised, and it didn´t take long to understand
that it was a disaster of unimaginable proportions. I was caught by horrible
anguish since I do have very good friends that for years have been going to
Thailand over Christmas. It took days before I got in touch with someone who
told me that for the first time for many years they decided to go to Egypt
instead.

People all over the world opened
their hearts and gave as much as they could. Charity events were arranged in
nearly every country and money flowed in to the affected area via different
help organisations. Governments did send enormous sums.

I did arrange a charity night in Reginas
restaurant in the port in Fuengirola. In a restaurant who normally can take
about 95-100 people between 150 to 200 push themselves in. I decided from the
start not to have any entrance since I do have a lot of friends who are very
short of money. We raised 2000 Euro that night, but money kept on coming in
also after that night. All together now about 2215 Euro. Not a gigantic sum but
the money will help to rebuild a orphanage on Sri Lanka.

Today about 130 000 people have
been found and identified, but the true figures will never be known. The fear
is that about 220 000 people have been killed. The big task for the survivors
is to build up and try to get back to a life as normal as possible.

The strongest picture I do have is a
mother of 31 years. A wonderfully beautiful woman, that silently crying tell
the journalist that she has lost her whole family; her husband and her 3 children.
She was greatful though that she had found her 3-year old on a street in the
town where she lived. The little 3-year old represented for her a sort of a
consolation; at least she could take of and bury one of her family. The child
was burred in a mass grave together with 3000 other victims.

I wanted to be close. I wanted to
understand, so I let the tv run 24 hours a day the first two weeks. Yet we can
NEVER understand. We can only see the pictures of weary, crying people of
different nationalities searching for and hoping to find the bodies of their
beloved ones.

Of the visiting tourist countries Sweden
was hit hard. A picture that really hurts is the picture of the Teddy Bear Club
that contained about 30 toddlers that were wiped out by the Tsunami. Another
picture is an article about a 10 year old Swedish girl who lost all her family.
She told the reporter that she was moved by the Thai man who saved her and many
others, gave away everything he could when it came to clothes, food and money.
To have that strength although he lost all his family.

There were a lot of heroes in this
disaster. People in all varying ages and of different nationalities saved other
people risking their own life.

There were other kinds of people too,
people who stole children. People who used the situation, they stole
jewelleries from dead bodies floating around everywhere, they stole from houses
that still were standing. There were tourists returning early after the
disaster, complaining that the beaches were untidy and full of rubble. Those
people are worth nothing but contempt. I do lack words describing that kind of
people, but these scrupulous, disregarding and calculating people exist
everywhere, always. The heart weeps, but what’s the good of that?

The important thing now is our continues
support to the victims. Important also that many eyes are opened to the misery
that continuously exist all over the world. Hopefully people with inconceivable
amounts of money will be wakened up out of their pupated lethargy. Hopefully
the one who before have difficulties choosing diamante collar to their pets now
will understand that these money could mean the future people who have nothing.

People are needed that take
sponsored children. Why not take sponsored families? Sponsored villages?
Sponsored orphanages?

Life is so sudden. In a split of a
second the reality do change and all foothold in life disappear. We need each
other. We have to start to see each other in the little average life. We must
begin giving each other encouraging, warmth and joy. We must respect each
other, if we don’t nobody is going to respect us. The respect becomes a
superficial phenomena that groups of internal admires do give to each other.

Words like that have been written
thousands of times through ages and it need to bee written uncountable times
limitless future ahead.

I had a new experience in my own hometown
Fuengirola beginning February. A friend visited me from Sweden and wanted to
see Fuengirola zoo. I don’t like to see animals in cages, that’s why I during
the 17 winters I lived here never have been there. now it was rebuild a couple
of years age, and I heard that it is fantastic, yet I have not induced myself
to go there and see it. But now it did happen. I was very impressed how they in
such a very small area have succeeded to build a little Noahs arch in the middle
of Fuengirola. The closeness to the animals was fantastic!

The show that took place at 4.30
was unbelievable. Careers brought out a lot of different animals into a small
arena, where they were fed. It was powerful to see such togetherness between
carers and animals! It requires a lot of love to build up such a confidence! I
got to feed a small deer, seconds when life in itself bubbled of emotions! Have
a look at the pictures in the link below!

I had a lot of visiters after Christmas.
Four ladies came end of January-beginning February from the cathedral in my
hometownWe visited a mass in the
little catholic congregation St Joseph in the middle of the heart of
Fuengirola. We visited Scandiavian Tourist Church, a souch of joy! We went to
Cadiz and visited my beloved nuns Mary and Ana-Maria. We went up in the
coolmountain and succeeded in finding
some blooming almond trees. We went to the mountain village Mijas etc etc.

I had arranged a massive program
and the girls did a good job coping with it! It was wonderful to have them down
here! I was lucky enough to have my friend Petri Mäkilää driving us to Cadiz,
Mijas and blooming almond trees for only the coast of the petrol. Fantastic
Petri! We say “thank You” with all our hearts!!

Beginning February we had carnival in
Fuengirola. Lots of people participated although it was bitterly cold and
raining! Saturday nightthe dressed up
got together on the church square in Fuengirola with families and friends. The
best costumes got prizes, individual and groups.

To be invited to the local people
is due to some people, not usual. I have been lucky enough during the 17
winters I been spending here, to be invited to Spanish families quite often. It
has always beena true pleasure! Coming
into a Spanish home and feel the hospitality is wonderful. A Spanish lunch last
for hours! You talk and you discuss everything between heaven and earth. It
always starts up with a coffee while the housewife take care of the last
details. Then the lunch comes up! This time it started with a rich soup of
vegetables. After that an even more rich salad full of healthy ingredients.
With the salad fresh bouqerones(small fish) wereserved. incredibly good! I´ve always liked bouqerones, but must
say that the homemade ones were the best I ever eaten! Rosalia, the mother in
the family, had put the bouqeronestogether three and three by thetail-fin, which made them look like small fans. The lunch was so good so
Idecided to publish all the dishes on
the food site. Test it! It taste absolutely delicious!

My very good friend, the warm
hearted and the fantastic priest Canon David Fitzgibbon past away this January.
I will always miss hans happy smile, his wise words, his fantastic sermons, his
genuine kindness towards all people he met and his contagious humour. I am very
greateful for all support he gave me when I started up my Webmagazine 2nd
of February 2002. He opened the magazine together with the Swedish consul Stig
Öberg. Apart from that we had a fantastic “strat-up-party” he blessed the
webmagazine at several occasions both in the ecumenical centre Lux Mudi and in
the little catholic church St Joseph, both located in Fuengirola.

There are not many new articles
this edition, maybe the ideas froze in the bitter cold we had this winter, but
there still a lot to read for the one who is interested.

Until next time I see You all between the
lines I wish You all well! Take care of each other, give each other
consideration and kindness. And remember that the shortest way between two
people is a smile!